Top chocolate manufacturers in the world

If you ever wondered who were the top 10 global chocolate manufacturers in the world, Candy Industry has the facts. Although, the data is a bit old now and a lot of the companies have changed their name over the years (as you will read further down), you can rest assured that these are still the movers and shakers of the chocolate industry today.

Total Sales in US$millions

Mars Inc (USA)----------------------- 9,546
Cadbury Schweppes PLC (UK)----------- 8,126
Nestlé SA (Switzerland)------------- 7,973
Ferrero SpA (Italy)----------------- 5,580
Hershey Foods Corp. (USA)------------ 4,881
Kraft Foods Inc. (USA)-------------- 2,250
Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. (Japan)------ 1,693
Lindt & Sprüngli AG (Switzerland)---- 1,673
Barry Callebaut AG (Belgium/France)-- 1,427
Ezaki Glico Co (Japan)-------------- 1,239
Reference: Candy Industry, January 2006


1.Mars Inc. is ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the US by Forbes and was founded by Frank Mars in Washington in 1911. In 1923, Milky Way was introduced, its best-selling candy bar, whilst the Mars Bar was launched in the UK, in 1932. Its famous chocolate products include: Mars, M&Ms, Milky Way, Bounty, Snickers, Twix, Dove, Galaxy, Skittles. www.mars.com

2.Cadbury plc is a British confectionary and beverage company. It was founded by John Cadbury in Birmingham, in 1824 and today, it has its headquarters in Uxbridge, UK. The firm was known as Cadbury Schweppes from 1969 until 2008. Its famous chocolate products include Cadbury, Fry’s, Green & Black’s, Boost, Brunch Bar, Crispy Crunch, Crunchie, etc. www.cadbury.com

3.Nestlé SA was founded by Henri Nestlé in Vevey, Switzerland, in 1866. Its famous chocolate products include Aero, 100 Grand Bar, Kit Kat, Nestlé Crunch and Rolo. www.nestle.com

4.Ferrero SpA is an Italian chocolate manufacturer founded by Pietro Ferrero, in 1946 and based in Pino Torinese, in Italy. Today, it has got its headquarters in Alba, Piemonte. Its famous chocolate products include: Ferrero Rocher, Pocket Coffee, Mon Chéri, Giotto, Confetteria Raffaello, Kinder Surprise, Fiesta Ferrero, and the Kinder Chocolate series. www.ferrero.com

5.The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 by Milton Snavely Hershey, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where it still has its headquarters. Milton Hershey began planting cocoa trees in his hometown Derry Church, in Pennsylvania, in 1903, and the job has taken off since then. The Hershey’s Chocolate Bars are among its famous chocolate products. www.hersheys.com

6.Kraft Foods Inc was founded in Chicago, in 1903 by Canadian-born James L. Kraft, of German origin. Today, the company is headquartered in Chicago and has its European headquarters just outside Zurich, Switzerland. Although, chocolate doesn’t exactly come to mind with Kraft , the company is in fact the colossus behind Milka, Oreo, Nabisco, Jacob’s, LU. www.kraftfoodscompany.com 

7.Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. was founded in Tokyo, in 1916 where it still has its headquarters. Its famous products include Hello Panda and Yan Yan. www.meiji.co.jp/en

8.Lindt & Sprüngli AG is more commonly known as Lindt. It was founded by David Sprüngli- Schwarz and his son Rudolf Sprüngli- Ammann in Zurich, in 1845. Today, it has its headquarters in Kilchberg, Switzerland. Johann Rudolf, son of Rudolf Sprüngli acquired Rodolphe Lindt’s chocolate factory in 1899 and the business thus changed its name to incorporate both family names. Lindor is a famous chocolate type produced by Lindt. www.lindt.com

9.Barry Callebaut is the result of a merger that took place in 1996 between the Belgian Callebaut and the French Cacao Barry. Cacao Barry was founded by Charles Barry in 1842 and Callebaut by Eugenius Callebaut in 1850. Callebaut began as a brewery which started producing chocolate bars in 1911. In 2005, Barry Callebaut introduced ACTICOA, a healthy chocolate which contains higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants than any other chocolate. www.barry-callebaut.com

10.Ezaki Glico Co. was founded by Toshikazu Ezaki in Osaka, Japan, in 1929. Many chocolate products have come out of this company: Pretz, Pocky, Bisco, Kiss- mint, Papico, etc. www.glico.co.jp/en/index.htm

Japanese Chocolate and Strawberry Pocky